The 63rd edition of the Concours d'Elegance, at Pebble Beach, in Carmel, California, pulled in a Burke's Peerage of classic cars and big spenders.

The Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach—or, in friendlier, less Frenchified terms, Pebble—is a fashionable affair. Many attendees change their automobiles as often as lesser mortals change their shirt, and for similar reasons—to match their shoes or because it's hot. The folks walking the greens make for a surprisingly stylish crowd for an auto show. You see plenty of wealthy Kansas land developers dressed down and on vacation, but you can't miss the preppy popinjays who'd fit right in in Milan. These stunning dressers are not all Europeans. And their ranks are swelled by the judges, a very recognizable presence on Sunday morning, all in their classic blue blazers, starched white shirts, and yellow ties, putting the cars through their paces. And of course, the cars set an amazingly stylish tone, all those classic cars, and postwar racing cars, and Euro touring cars, and the big coach saloons.

Pebble, the Westminster dog show of million-dollar cars, attracts the same Upper Richistani demographic as the Miami Basel art fair does, but the feel on the golf course and surrounding villas is very different. Maybe because cars, and the love of them, is more democratizing, because it's cross-generational, even cross-class—there are plenty of mechanics who know as much about the $27.5M 1967 Ferrari Spider as the guy who bought it, and the two types tend to enjoy talking about such prizes in ways that dissolve class difference—there's almost a wholesome feeling in the place. The rich guys are indulging a dream that started back when they only had enough money to buy a Ferrari poster, so all the guys who only ever had a poster cheer right along with them. It's also much more straight male—the triumph of golf and cars over art and fashion. The parties are less fabulous—more lawn party and 19th hole.

It's no coincidence that we keep mentioning Ferrari. It's the only marque that's mastered the trick of making a car that reliably appreciates in value. As a consequence, Ferrari has a mainline into the collectible market. Among rival car companies, there was a sense of futility and envy when this subject came up. From both ends, high and low, mass and custom, Lincoln and Cadillac, Lamborghini and Aston Martin, they all sounded a little like they had to play in a different league, the way golfers used to sound talking about Tiger a few years ago.